Lead-acid traction batteries are ganged together in packs and used to power electric vehicles. Batteries in such packs require terminal connections which have very low electrical resistance and are not susceptible to loosening due to vibration or poor properties of the materials used to make such connections. Conventional battery terminals have not proven to be successful in satisfying these electric vehicle battery requirements. Such earlier terminals have typically coupled the cable connector directly to a lead-based component of the battery terminal e.g., via a bolt, clamp or other means. The tightness of such connections progressively deteriorates as the metallurgical creep of the lead results in a loosening of the connection which, in turn, increases the electrical resistance at the connection and allows corrosion to build up at the interface between the cable connector and the battery terminal. The problem is further accelerated due to the vibrations vehicular batteries are exposed to. Inasmuch as electric vehicle packs contain a plurality of individual batteries electrically joined together by a significant number of cable-battery connections throughout the battery pack, the additive effect of the resistance at each terminal is significant, and improved terminal connections are required to minimize the voltage and I.sup.2 R losses that can occur in a battery pack incident to these additive resistances.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved terminal for a traction-type, lead-acid storage battery which terminal provides a low resistance coupling between a cable connector and the battery, which coupling remains tight, secure and substantially corrosion free at the electrical interface between the cable connector and the terminal. This and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the description thereof which follows.